Harmony In Memory
by EternallyAnna
Summary: Black can't just take N trying to ditch Unova, so he follows N to a new region. Upon arrival though, things go very, very wrong...
1. Prologue

It had been almost exactly a year.

A year since Professor Juniper had gifted him, Cheren, and Bianca with their first Pokémon. Twelve months since Bianca's enthusiasm over said Pokémon had destroyed his bedroom. Four seasons since the trio had taken the first step of their journey in unison. Three hundred and sixty-one days since Black had met the enigmatic teen now standing before him, a myriad of emotions flitting unhidden across his pale face.

"There... there's something I want to talk to you about," he beckoned for Black to come closer, then turned on his heel and led the confused boy deeper into the throne room. Down a long hallway they walked in silence before N stopped abruptly.

"It's about when I first met you. In Accumula Town. I was shocked when I heard what your Pokémon was saying. I was shocked because that Pokémon said that it liked you. It said it wanted to be with you." He hesitated and walked a bit further, fiddling with the Menger sponge at his side. Soon enough he stopped walking and plowed ahead with his monologue.

"I couldn't understand. I couldn't believe there existed Pokémon that liked people. Because, up until that moment, I'd never known a Pokémon like that. The longer my journey continued, the more unsure I became. All I kept meeting were Pokémon and people who communicated and helped one another. That's why I needed to confirm my beliefs by battling with you. I wanted to confront you, hero-to-hero. I needed that more than anything."

He started walking once again and Black wondered if the movement was simply excuse for N to collect his thoughts. The pair reached a set of stairs and N motioned him to stop while the green-haired boy continued on alone toward a large hole in the wall. Reaching the middle of the raised platform he turned to face Black, the dying sun's rays illuminating him from behind.

"There's no way..." he began, bowing his head. "There's no way a person like me, someone who understands only Pokémon- no..." N chuckled sadly. " I didn't understand them, either. No way could I measure up to you, when you were surrounded by so many caring friends, both human and Pokémon..."

He walked further and this time Black followed, concerned, as N seemed close to falling through the gap in the wall. The taller boy's toes rested on the edge as he stared out across the illuminated autumn landscape. "The Champion has forgiven me, and... what I do now is something I'll have to decide for myself." He tossed a Pokéball into the air, releasing Zekrom who greeted the outside world with a loud roar.

For the first time since Alder and Cheren had left with their prisoner, Black found his voice. "N... what will you do?"

N turned to face him again, smile brilliant but sad. "I don't know yet. But Black! You said you have a dream. That dream... make it come true! Make your wonderful dream a reality, and it will become your truth! If anyone can do that... I feel sure it's you." In an abrupt movement, he swung himself on to Zekrom's back. "Farewell, Black. And... thank you."

Black's eyes widened and he rushed forward. "No! N, wait!" he shouted. "You don't have to-" He stopped, mid-sentence. Already N was too far gone to hear him.

Black gritted his teeth and rocked back on his heels. The boy he had run into nearly as often as Bianca and Cheren, the man who had been integrated into his life, the enigma he had puzzled over far more than was warranted for the past year had just up and left, vanished into the Unova sky. The lanky teen hadn't even had the courtesy to tell Black where he was going or give him any sort of legitimate closure that he would be satisfied with!

Well, he wasn't the type to let things go. And there was still time to catch up.

"Reshiram!" The white dragon burst out of its Pokéball as if it had been expecting his call. Black had just positioned himself on the beast's back as Cheren appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Black! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going after N!" Black shouted to his friend- his best friend, the boy he had known all his life. "I... I'll be back, Cheren! I promise you, I'll be back! Just wait for me!"

He leaned forward and spoke to Reshiram. "Please, follow Zekrom!" The dragon bowed its head in comprehension and took off, leaving Cheren in its wake. Black could hear him shouting what were probably obscenities as they flew away and bit his lip. He would be back soon enough, he was sure. Then his friend could rage at him to his heart's content.

They flew for what seemed like an eternity. Only a few times toward the beginning of the journey did Black catch a glimpse of Zekrom ahead of them, the rest of the time he simply had to trust that Reshiram had better senses than he. The temperatures at flying altitude were terribly cold; even burrowed in Reshiram's thick coat he felt it. Somehow, though, he managed to sleep through most of the night. When he woke it was to the hazy grey light of early morning, and Reshiram was approaching a small green landmass that Black previously had only seen in an atlas.

As he was craning his neck to the left to get a better view of the land below, a threatening roar erupted from the opposite side causing Black to whip around so fast he nearly fell off Reshiram's back. Before them hovered a massive green snake, coiling its body and lashing out, hissing aggressively. Reshiram stopped its advance into the region, hovering just in front of the monster.

"Reshiram," Black murmured, trying to keep as quiet and still as possible. "Can you start going down? Really, really, slowly?"

The dragon did not confirm that it understood, but Black felt it begin its descent toward the greenery below. He continued to watch the opposing beast warily, one hand cautiously undoing the clasp of his bag. _If I can just reach Braviary's Pokéball... _he thought. Reshiram seemed to be picking up speed; they were close enough that Black could pick out individual trees on the forested land. His fingers, still numb from cold, closed around the Pokéball he had engraved with Braviary's name. Triumphantly he jerked it out of the bag and-

"No!"

Braviary's Pokéball slipped from his fingers and as Black lunged for it, his bag fell off his shoulder, spilling its contents into the nothingness below. The sudden movements provoked the sky snake into darting to attack Reshiram, who plunged quickly down toward the trees. Black overbalanced as the descent quickened and fell off Reshiram's back and into the forest, breaking the canopy and hitting a multitude of branches on the way down. He heard a couple of different things crack and suddenly- pain. Then nothing.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

First, disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Second: This is not a CaféMocha fic. Sorry, everyone. But this has been nagging at me for quite a while.

Third: This will be my first multi-chapter fic. Exciting, yeah? I hope I'll keep you all interested. :3

Fourth: I currently do not have a beta reader, so if you see anything wrong I do appreciate you nicely pointing it out so I can fix it!

Last: Thanks for reading! Chapter One should be around soon.


	2. Memory

Three Months

"...aking up..."

"Move ... … the way!"

"Help … here!"

His head felt fuzzy. Things were going on around him. Something was beeping. His head felt fuzzy. _No, I already knew that..._ People were talking. Were they talking to him? It was dark. _No, it's not. Eyes. _His eyes were closed. His head hurt. _I should open my eyes. _He cracked one eye open and shut it immediately to block out the light painfully searing his eyeballs.

"... off the lights! Lower the blinds..."

The light outside his lids was reduced drastically and he tentatively opened his eye again. It still stung a bit, but he gamely forced open the other eye as well. A shock of brown hair hovered into view.

"Can you hear me?" It said. Presumably it was a person.

"Yes," he tried to answer. His voice wasn't in good shape.

"Do you know your name?"

"...Black...?"

"Okay, could be." There was a scribbling sound. Pencil? "Do you remember anything else?"

He lay silent for a few minutes, eyes fluttering shut once again. "N."

"Okay, what is N?"

"...N Harmonia?" _Sleep._

"Is that a person?"

"..."

Nine Months

A knock on his door. Black set down the five-pound dumbbells he had been working with and opened it, letting in the doctor who had looked after him for the majority of the past year.

"Doctor Helen." he greeted the short, slim woman warmly. "Come to finally kick me out, have you?"

Helen laughed. "You ask me this every week, Black."

"Well I'm going to want to know well in advance. You told me once patients are well enough to live on their own they get the boot. I've been fit enough for nearly a month now."

Helen sighed and flicked her long brown hair out of her eyes. "You're an odd case though. You appeared out of nowhere, spent three months in a coma and eight in serious rehabilitation. Nobody knows who you are, where you came from, how you got here."

"Well obviously I came from my mum and dad, you know how that works," Black said with a cheeky grin.

"Yes, but who are they?" Helen challenged. "I don't mean to be such a downer, but Black- nobody has any idea! Even you remember practically nothing. And we are going to have to kick you out soon; we don't really have the funding to keep you here. A lot of our money is already coming directly out of the Chairman's pocket and we don't want to have to put so much pressure on the budget."

There was a rather uncomfortable silence. "...I see."

"I'm sorry. It's just... financial. I- we- do really like you, Black, but you aren't going to be able to stay here much longer."

"Well. What should I do then, Doctor Helen?"

Helen fiddled with her clipboard. "I... we... were trying to think of something for you to do at the last meeting. There are a lot of jobs out in Slateport, you could rack up some experience to put on a resumé. Or if you want to stick around Verdanturf, I'm sure you could apply to be a stockboy at the market. Oh, and you're about college-age, you could go to up to Lilycove University."

Black listened semi-attentively. "None of those sound very interesting, really."

"There is... another option. Most older people don't take it, but it's pretty much a traditional career. Have you ever considered Pokémon training?"

Something flared in Black's mind. "...I think I did that once before. It... seems familiar. Can I try it again?"

"Yes of course! If it has the bonus of perhaps jogging your memory, then I fully support that option! We can set you up with a Pokémon and some gear in a couple days, if that's what you want."

"Yeah. I think that's best," Black said slowly. "See you later, Doctor Helen."

Helen smiled awkwardly and swung the door shut behind her. The moment the latch clicked, Black flopped face-up onto his narrow bed. Nine months at the Verdanturf Clinic and Rehabilitation Centre hadn't turned up any clue to his past. Why now, at this mention of Pokémon training? He had heard about it on a semi-regular basis, of course, but had never thought that _he_ had once been an adventurer. _I suppose I might have had Pokémon once. _Where were they now? What had happened to them? He hadn't had anything with him when he was found lying in the Petalburg Woods, three limbs and two ribs broken. Not to mention the gash in the side of his head. He touched the scar, located just behind his ear, tentatively. It wasn't visible to the casual observer, but Black knew it was there and it made him uncomfortable. It served only to remind him that he was incomplete, off, different.

_Maybe doing it again _will _help_.

Five Days

"You're allowed to keep some of the the wardrobe you've been using, so I've packed that up for you along with basic rain gear and a tent and so forth. You've got a few day's worth of food, if you run out at some point you can just pop in to a Pokémon Centre and take some of theirs, they don't care as long as you're registered. Speaking of registration, we've had your license made for you. And the Chairman called up Professor Birch and asked him to send over a completed Pokédex, since you don't seem to know the creatures of this region very well. And we've had Nurse Joy over at the Pokémon Centre find a nice, fit Pokémon looking to be adopted, I think you'll be quite pleased."

"I appreciate everything, Doctor Helen." Black said, breaking the woman's anxious chatter. He was slightly uneasy, which seemed odd to him. _I don't need to be nervous, I've done this before._

They were in the comfortably furnished lobby of the Rehabilitation Centre. Black had already said his goodbyes to the rest of the staff, most of whom had seemed sad to see him leave. Now it was down to this, the final goodbye and the start of a new journey.

"So, here's your backpack," Black took it from her, hefting it experimentally. "It shouldn't be too heavy for you at all, even with all the stuff in. The 'dex is in the right side pocket for easy access, there's a water bottle on the left and this-" Helen produced a small red and white ball from the pocket of her lab coat. "This is your Pokémon."

She pressed the button, releasing a small Pokémon in a flash of red light. It gave its green-hued body a vigorous shake and began to prowl around the room curiously.

"It's called an Electrike. It's an electric type, evolves into Manectric. This one's ability is Lightningrod, which means that it will attract electric attacks, but it won't be hurt by them. Instead, it will be powered up. Its current moveset is Tackle, Thunder Wave, Leer, and Howl, but it's pretty easy to teach Electrike new moves. It likes being brushed, there's one in your bag for that." The little dog-like creature paused in its investigations to lift its leg on a cushy red chair. "Oh... and it's a boy. I'll clean that up, don't worry."

Black chuckled and knelt down on the floor, tapping his fingers on the carpet. The noise was muted but loud enough to catch the little Pokémon's attention and he hurried over to see what was going on.

"Hey, Electrike," Black said quietly, turning his hand palm-up so the puppy could sniff it. "I'm your new trainer, how about that?"

Electrike yapped happily and tried to climb up Black's leg, covering the boy in sloppy doggy kisses. "He likes you!" Helen seemed astounded. "He's a good-natured little thing, but always stayed away from people."

"Maybe... I have a way with Pokémon?" Black managed, trying not to let Electrike lick his mouth.

"Perhaps that is the case." Helen handed Black the Pokéball. "Do you want to keep him in the ball for now?"

Black shook his head. "Nah. He likes running around. I'll put him back if he gets in the way."

"Alright, up to you."

Black stood, noticing not for the first time how small she was. "Well, I guess this is it."

"Yeah. Yes. I suppose it is."

"I'll stop by once in a while, alright? No need to miss me."

"I'm going to anyway," Helen said quickly, then blushed and looked away.

Black shifted his weight awkwardly, then gave Helen a quick hug. "Bye," he said, and left through the lobby's automatic doors, Electrike following cheerfully at his heels.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Still don't own Pokémon, still don't have a beta, this fic is still going slow, thank you for reading.


	3. Brendan

Black meandered west toward the Rusturf Tunnel, keeping a brown eye trained on Electrike. The little Pokémon seemed not to have experienced the outdoors very much. It tended to run all over the place erratically and become startled when it heard a loud noise, only to turn and chase after whatever had made it. This behaviour had Black often apologizing to random townspeople who crossed their path, but he still did not want to return Electrike to its Pokéball. The excitable puppy was having fun and entertaining him as he trekked out of the town.

A few days ago he had decided to go west to Rustboro for the beginning of his journey, wanting to visit the reputed Trainer's School and perhaps challenge Roxanne, the local gym leader. However, now knowing what Pokémon he had to work with, he was considering leaving his challenge for a later date. He had heard somewhere that Roxanne preferred rock and ground types, against which Electrike would have a immense disadvantage. Unless he caught something able to use grass or water-type attacks, he wouldn't have a chance.

A low growl caught Black's attention. Glancing to his left he saw Electrike growling at hedge. "What's up?" he asked the Pokémon, strolling over for a better look.

The hedge was about head-height for Black, who was nearly six feet tall, and perhaps an arm-length deep. It seemed to be the boundary line for an extensive property which he could see bits of if he craned his neck. The more interesting thing about the hedge was that the section which Electrike was now sniffing warily was rustling violently.

"Is it a Pokémon?" Black asked the electric dog, curiously, who simply yapped at the hedge in response.

"I'm not a Pokémon!" the hedge insisted over Electrike's noise. A head covered in tousled chocolate brown hair popped through the hedge at about knee-level, causing Electrike to jump back. "I'm looking for one, though," it continued cheerfully. "You seen a Skitty around here?"

"Uh, I don't think so. What's a Skitty?" he asked, kneeling down next to the sudden arrival.

The head sighed. "It's just that I was looking after it for a friend, see, and she warned me that it liked to wander off but I thought it would be fine with the other Pokémon and now it's gone missing. Well, not missing exactly because it ran into this hedge and if you haven't seen it then there is a high probability of it still being in this hedge- what are you doing? Did you just ask me what a Skitty was? What's that?"

Black had pulled the Pokédex out and flipped back the cover, searching the device's files for something called Skitty. "I'm trying to find out what a Skitty is."

The head blinked its red-brown eyes. "You don't know what a Skitty is? How are you going to look it up if you- OH." He seemed to suddenly come to a realization. "I understand! You must be Black!" A hand thrust its way through the branches, inviting Black to shake it. "I'm Brendan. Brendan Birch. I'm technically a Pokémon professor, but I'm so recently out of university that I don't feel entirely comfortable having the title attributed to me. Besides, whenever anyone says 'Professor Birch' everyone- including me- thinks of my dad first so it's just easier to be Brendan."

Black cautiously shook the proffered hand, though actual motion was made difficult by Brendan's arm being tangled in the hedge. "Nice to meet you. How'd you know who I was?"

"Oh, I'm friends with the Chairman of the Rehabilitation Centre. He called me up and requested that Pokédex you have right there. It was mine, by the way. Back when my dad had me simultaneously doing fieldwork and training. It's pretty old but still works fantastically."

Said Pokédex gave a low beep indicating that its search had been completed, scaring Electrike into growling at it. Black looked at the display, carefully examining the small cat-like creature for any signs of familiarity. "Sorry, can't say I've seen a Skitty around here."

Brendan frowned. "Well damn. Hey, do you mind helping me look for it? Once I find it I have to bring it to my dad. He's out in Rustboro right now. You're headed there, right? I could give you a lift. I'm not nearly as crazy a driver as my dad is so you don't have to worry at all."

"How do you know I'm headed to Rustboro?"

Brendan blinked his oddly-colored eyes. "Well, you're going that direction. Unless you're lost? I could give you a map if you need it."

"No, no, I'm going to Rustboro." Black wasn't quite sure about the offer of a ride, but it would get him to Rustboro faster. Brendan seemed like a good person. His absentminded chatter was occasionally permeated by keen perception, which Black found intriguing. "Alright, sure. I'll help out."

"Excellent!" Brendan was delighted. "There's a gate 'round the corner- just keep follow the hedge west and turn, you can't miss it. I'll meet you over there." His head and arm removed themselves from the hedge as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Black and Electrike alone. The area suddenly seemed empty without the other man's incessant chatter, so Black stood up and looked at Electrike, who cautiously sniffed the hole where Brendan's head had been.

"Well, let's go then."

The gate Brendan had mentioned was not at all far away. Electrike ran up to it first, yapping happily at the black-haired boy on the other side fumbling with a heavy padlock. The gate was a big wrought-iron structure, obviously installed more for looks than keeping things out. Anyone or anything with a burning desire to trespass needed only to crawl through the hedge to have access to the sprawling grounds.

"That's your Electrike, then?" Brendan asked as he managed to wrestle open the lock. Now that Black could see him in full, he realized Brendan was a few inches shorter than him, though stockier and more muscular- probably from years of fieldwork- whereas Black was slim and lanky. His deeply tanned skin and dark brown hair also contrasted with Black's own pale features and light brown- nearly sandy blonde- unruly shock.

"Yeah, he's mine. I think he was an abandoned house pet before he was given to me."

"Oh?" Brendan beckoned them in, eying Electrike curiously. "What makes you think so?"

"Well..." What _had _ made him think that? "I suppose it's because he acts like he's never seen the outdoors before, but he listens pretty well and keeps close by me." He frowned. "That could be just for me, though. Doctor Helen said that he kept his distance from everyone else- what are you doing?"

The young professor was on his hands and knees examining Electrike, whose eyes were wide and slightly frightened and was inching slowly away. "I'd have to agree with your analysis, Black. He doesn't seem to trust me at all. This type of behaviour is very common in abandoned and released Pokémon, especially those who had been close with a few certain people beforehand. You're lucky he's taken a shine to you, because otherwise you'd have a massive problem on your hands. These kinds of Pokémon can be very sullen and really aggressive if- ow!"

Electrike, unappreciative at being eyeballed, had let loose an uncontrolled burst of static electricity that managed to zap one of Brendan's hands. The man shook feeling back into the numbed appendage with an almost comical expression of hurt on his face while Electrike took refuge behind Black's legs, content to growl softly from there.

"Sorry about that," Black said ruefully. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Brendan waved him off as he stood up. "Shoulda known better. A lifetime of Pokémon and I still get overenthusiastic and forget basic precautions," he laughed.

"Did your dad raise you with Pokémon, then?"

"Yeah! He always had a few Pokémon around the lab, but mostly he does fieldwork. When I was little he would bring me along when his assistants were busy with something else. It's actually pretty rare that he studies Pokémon in his lab, even now. That's why I thought it was really odd when he asked me to bring Skitty to him, but then again-"

Brendan stopped, cheerful face contorting into an expression of slight horror. "Skitty! I completely forgot about it! Come on, Black, help me look for her, she can't have gone too far but she likes to hide so we'll probably have some difficulty finding her, that's why I was looking in the hedge, I saw her run into there-"

Three hours of frantic searching later, Skitty was found curled up in the shade of a young apple tree back near where Black had first encountered Brendan. It was a deeper shade of pink, leaning more towards red, than the 'dex entry for its species had shown, which piqued Black's curiosity.

"Huh? Oh, some Pokémon are born a different color than others." Brendan supplied when Black questioned him as they walked. "It's really rare. A bit like albino humans, I guess. It's a throwback gene to when the species were first evolving- I mean evolving into the forms you see now, not evolving into a new stage. Anyway, it's a throwback to when the species as a whole was trying to find what traits worked best for what it needed. It's technically a bad thing for Pokémon to be alternately colored- think of a Zubat. They're usually purplish and are hard to see in caves and at night, right? Well, an alternately colored Zubat is green. That would be fine if it were a day creature that lived in forests, but that's not what a Zubat is. That green Zubat doesn't blend in very well, and therefore has a much greater chance of being eaten or something."

Brendan paused for breath. He tended to speak as if in a rush to get all the information out, Black noticed. He wondered if people didn't normally pay attention when the boy was talking. He, though, relished the endless stream of information. He knew so little that knowing _anything_ was comforting to him. "So what about this Skitty? It's not too far off from its natural color."

Brendan glanced up, going cross-eyed in an attempt to look at the Skitty currently snoozing on his head. "There are some odd species like that. There's a theory says the species simply collectively chose the common color as the most beneficial, and another that says that there were once two sub-species of the Pokémon that interbred and that this color is a recessive gene in the species. Er," he interrupted himself guiltily. "Am I annoying you? My friend May say I talk too much."

"No, no, not at all." Black grinned. "I like listening to you. I don't really know much right now, so I'm absorbing information like a sponge."

"Oh, that's a relief!" Brendan brightened up again. "But... you don't remember anything?"

"Well... I'm pretty sure my name is Black. And I remember basic things, like how to eat, what I like and what most words mean. I think I was a trainer, even though I don't recognize most Pokémon. Doctor Helen says that's probably because I'm not from this region."

"Hmm. Nothing else?"

"There's one thing, I suppose. I was in a coma for three months, you know. Doctor Helen says that when I first came out of it I mentioned "N Harmonia". I don't know what- of who, I guess- it is, but I feel like I have to find it. Or them." Black shrugged. "I suppose I'll keep an eye and ear out as I travel for any clues to that."

The duo strolled deeper into the property in silence for once, toward a structure too big to be thought of as a house but too small to be called a mansion. Black pet Electrike absentmindedly as the little Pokémon dozed in his arms, worn out from running around all morning. "Is that your house up there?" he asked.

"What? Oh, no. It's a friend's, he lets me stay here when I'm in Verdanturf. It used to belong to one of his relatives who had a rather big family, but when their children left the nest so to speak, they didn't need it anymore. He bought it from them pretty cheap, though of course money wouldn't have been a concern anyway. I think he lived here for a while as a kid and grew really fond of the place. He keeps it in good repair but mostly uses it for storing all his belongings in."

Brendan's friend seemed interesting. Black wanted to know more but didn't want to pry- though Brendan was likely to tell him everything about the guy in a heartbeat.

"Hey, Black, are you hungry? Do you want to grab some lunch before we leave? It's gonna take a while to get to Rustboro since there's not technically a road that goes directly to it."

"Lunch sounds good, yeah. Wait- what do you mean there's not a road? How are we getting there?"

"We'll just take the jeep along one of the forest trails." Catching Black's worried expression, he grinned. "Don't worry! I've been driving that route since I was twelve. And I'm not a reckless driver like Dad is. It's fine. As long as you keep your head down in case of low branches. It's not that dangerous."

Black somehow didn't find that very comforting.

* * *

><p>Notes<p>

I don't own anything.

I don't have a beta, feel free to point out any mistakes so I can correct them.

Good god does Brendan talk a lot. Sorry about that, he just kind of took over and wouldn't stop. Don't worry though, most of what he says is important!

Thanks for reading~


End file.
